Company Actively Supporting Replacement of Defective Parts

Oregon-based Van’s Aircraft is reviewing, testing, and finalizing a web portal by which customers in receipt of cracked aircraft parts may report such and arrange to take delivery of replacement components. In the interest of ensuring proper function, a number of Van’s customers have been invited to preliminarily assess the portal. Information pertaining to the portal and instructions for accessing such will be sent to Van’s customers upon the testing-regimen’s conclusion.

Stalwart Rotorcraft Completes 59th Red Planet Flight

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, while executing a 16 September 2023 sortie, broke its own Martian altitude record, ascending 66-feet above the inhospitable expanse of Mars’s surface. The achievement lent an august air to the contraption’s 59th flight, and evinced the remarkable resilience of a machine now well into its 31st month on the iconic Red Planet.

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SpaceX is fighting a puzzling lawsuit filed by the U.S. DOJ, which alleges they mainntain discriminatory hiring practices. SpaceX asserts the DOJ’s lawsuit is unconstitutional and has countersued. The DOJ charged: “The lawsuit alleges that, from at least September 2018 to May 2022, SpaceX routinely discouraged asylees and refugees from applying and refused to hire or consider them, because of their citizenship status, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act.” Last week, an Airbus A320 then operating as Ural Airlines flight U6-1383 departed Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Sochi bound for the south-central Siberian municipality of Omsk. Running low on fuel and observing an open field, the pilots configured the aircraft and executed a successful off-airport landing. Ural Airlines now appears to be prep

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The Historic Flight Foundation’s collection of vintage aircraft is being sold off to pay a $20.1-million debt incurred by its founder, John Sessions. In 2022, a jury in Williston, North Dakota found Sessions and one of his companies, Eagle Crest Apartments, had fraudulently transferred funds to other businesses owned by Sessions, including the Historic Flight Foundation. The last 12-months have seen the FAA certify a total of 10,191 new Airline Transport Pilots (ATP). In August 2023 alone, upwards of 1,200 new ATPs were vetted and written gleaming new tickets—the largest monthly number in history. In keeping with the expectations of myriad aviation industry stakeholders, the FAA announced that it would extend the Remote ID enforcement date by six-months. Ergo, owners and operators of Radio Controlled (RC) Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)—known colloquially as dro

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Oregon-based Van’s Aircraft is developing a web-portal by which customers in receipt of cracked aircraft parts may report such and arrange to take delivery of replacement components. Customers visiting the portal will be presented lists of the heretofore problematic laser-cut parts from which they may specify the replacements they require. The ANN crew had an immensely successful trip to Mt., Vernon Illinois for the very busy 15th Annual MidWest LSA Expo. Not the biggest show in the world, there was still LOTS of flying, an overtly friendly atmosphere and a volunteer staff that could NOT be beat. Close to 40 vendors filled the easily accessed airport ramp, and nearly 200 demo flights were safely executed. Overall traffic was estimated to be up some 20% over previous such events. Longtime EAA Chapter 252 member and volunteer-pilot Fred Stadle

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The town council of Holly Hill, a town in South Carolina’s Orangeburg County, has promulgated an ordinance prohibiting operations of ‘ultralight’ aircraft massing less-than six-hundred-pounds at Holly Hill Airport (5J5). The legally-questionable fiat was predicated largely upon two accidents, both of which involved 'ultralight-type' aircraft, at the Holly Hill airport during the preceding 2 years. Councilmembers rationalized their collective overreach, ascribing such to a nebulous obligation to protect the health and welfare of the town’s citizenry. Textron Aviation and NetJets have entered into an agreement by which the Columbus, Ohio-based charter and fractional-ownership concern will retain options to purchase up to 1,500 additional Cessna Citation business jets over a 15-year period. Delta Air Lines is making Wheels Up an int

The Makings of a Memorable 50th Anniversary Event 

Tickets are currently on sale for 2024’s SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo in Lakeland, Florida. Moreover, buyers availing themselves of advanced online ticket sales will enjoy fifty-percent off event parking. 2024 will mark the 50th anniversary of the SUN ‘n FUN fly in. The 09 through 14 April event will strive to honor the pioneers and volunteers by whose industry and expertise the organization has grown from a small local gathering of pilots and aircraft owners to one of the world’s preeminent celebrations of all things aeronautical.

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Two pilots are confirmed dead after the completion of a T-6 Gold Race as they returned to the field and collided in the process. Pilots at the site have furnished multiple reports that both aircraft collided while heading for final... with one aircraft getting its tail severed and impacting shortly thereafter, with the other continuing a short distance before going down. Reno officials ID’ed Nick Macy and Chris Rushing, as the pilots lost. Tragedy has hit again... with the Italian Frecce Tricolori Flight Demonstration Team at the center of it all. During a formation fly-by at the Turin Caselle Airport, this weekend, one aircraft was seen to drop out of a dual 'V' formation, followed seconds later by the pilot's ejection and the aircraft's impact near the end of the runway. The pilot has apparently survived but the jet's impact put it through th

New Trainers Greener and Safer than Legacy Models

Citing parent entity Air France-KLM Group’s commitment to greener flight training, KLM Flight Academy—the Dutch flying school and wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM)—is replacing its extant training fleet with no fewer than one-dozen single-engine Diamond DA40 NG and two additional twin-engine Diamond DA42-VI aircraft. The firm order calls for the first deliveries of the antecedent aircraft to be made in 2024’s first quarter. Moreover, the acquisition will increase KLM’s fleet of Diamond training aircraft to a total 18 airplanes comprising six DA42-VI and 12 DA40 NG models.

Award Recognizes Dedication and Contribution to U.S. Aviation

The National Aeronautic Association (NAA)—the Washington D.C.-based U.S. non-profit organization—will award 2023’s Bruce Whitman Memorial Trophy to Mr. Ross Perot, Jr. The trophy recognizes Mr. Perot’s commitment to recognizing the achievements of America’s military heroes and sharing such for purpose of inspiring future generations of aviators. A native of Dallas, Texas, a graduate of Vanderbilt University, and a retired United States Air Force fighter pilot, Perot, in 1982, was the first person to successfully circumnavigate the Earth in a helicopter.